Professional Development

Professional Development Units

McCoy College graduate students are required to successfully complete their academic degree plan with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in order to graduate. However, your graduate experience is not limited to the classroom; it is enhanced by honing soft skills. For that reason, several of our master's degree programs require students to complete a number of Professional Development Units (PDUs) as part of a co-curricular graduation requirement.

We have developed a professional development program designed to give our graduate students a competitive advantage in their career paths. Every semester, we offer events with industry leaders and subject matter experts who kindly share their leadership insights and guidance. An example of past session titles includes Artificial Intelligence (AI), improving Emotional Intelligence (EQ) navigating difficult conversations, leveraging your strengths, building strong teams, communicating better with others, and running collaborative teams. Students can register and attend events based on their interest and choice. The first opportunity for students to earn PDUs is by attending the McCoy College Graduate Bootcamp event prior to the start of their first semester.

PDU Credit Requirements by Program

The following programs require completion of 12 PDUs during your time in the program:

• MBA (in person programs)
• MSDAIS
• MSMRA
• MSQFE

For other graduate programs – DBA, MAcy, MSAIT and MBA-AOP – completing PDUs is optional, though students are encouraged to participate in PDU events. Please consult your program coordinator or advisor with any questions.

Keeping Track of PDU Credits

PDUs are tracked via the Texas State Canvas learning management system (LMS) under the Professional Development course. Each PDU-eligible event will be advertised to McCoy College graduate students and an in-person sign-in sheet or virtual data logs will be gained to capture the names and email addresses of students in attendance. If a student attends an event but does not sign in, or meet criteria, credit will not be awarded.

McCoy College graduate students are expected to honor their commitments. When you register for a professional development event, attendance or cancellations prior to the event are expected. Advanced cancellations are necessary to help us accommodate the popularity of these events. Professional development events often involve industry professionals who are generously donating their time and expertise to provide value for McCoy College graduate students. As such, students are expected to arrive prior to the start time, stay for the entire event, be professional, attentive, and participate. PDU credit may be denied at the discretion of the McCoy College graduate programs staff if a student is tardy or otherwise not participating in the session. Additional information can be found in the McCoy College student handbook.

While the McCoy College graduate programs staff track PDUs, it is the ultimate responsibility of the graduate student to ensure they meet the requirement of earning enough PDU credits prior to graduation. Best practices suggest earning, at least, 4 PDU credits each semester.

How to check and track your PDUs:

• Login to Canvas
• Choose the “Professional Development” course
• Navigate to “Grades”
• Look for the first figure in the total points you earned. This will indicate your current balance.
• NOTE: The second total figure could exceed beyond 12, due to previous data still being included in Canvas. For the most accurate total, disregard this second figure in the Total:   /   fraction shown.

All PDU credits earned will be updated in Canvas within 7 business days following each PDU event.

It is important to know that while they work together and have a similar name, the McCoy College Graduate Programs Professional Development Unit Program “PDUs” and The Graduate College Shop Talks are separate and different programs for graduate students. Each host graduate student events but have different professional development programs criteria, are run by different TXST staff, and requirement policies for attendance and completion differ.